Each month there are more than 2 billion messages sent on Messenger between people and businesses. In fact, according to Greenberg Inc, 80% of adults and 91% of teens use messaging apps every day. Are you one of these people or businesses?

What is a Messenger Bot?

It’s the automation of messages and triggers that allow you to deploy marketing strategies inside the Facebook Messenger App.

Here’s everything you need to know about integrating bots with your current marketing strategy.

#1: Communicate with website visitors

The good news! Website visitors often browse your site to find the products or services they need. But what happens when they have a question about your product or service? Help your customer find the answers they need without having to pick up the phone to call you. Instead, give them an option to reach you using bot technology to emulate live chat.

56% of people would rather message than call customer service.

Let’s take a look at an example:

Clicking the “Chat Now” link will start the Messenger conversation with your customer. Always welcome the customer by name, ask a question or give something of value.

Keep in mind, that at any time, you can interrupt the bot and take over the conversation in real-time in case the customer needs additional help.

#2: Connect Messenger to your Facebook posts

Make it easy for your customer to reach you with just one click. Let’s say they are scrolling through their Facebook newsfeed and your post appears. You’ve caught their attention, so don’t lose it. Be sure to include a call-to-action message in the post text along with the “Send Message” button below the image.

#3: Create a Welcome Message to Start the Conversation

When your customer clicks “Send Message” they are routed to Messenger and they will receive a Welcome Message.

To build your Messenger subscriber list, your welcome message must be engaging enough for the user to take action.

Once the customer engages by clicking a button or typing text, they become a subscriber and the bot can take over the conversation.

#4: Run free giveaways and contests to your followers

One of the best ways to create engagement and excitement is to host a giveaway or a contest inside Facebook. Many of these giveaways and contests simply ask the Facebook users to like, share or comment to be entered into the contest.

Ok, that’s great, you’re getting users to enter your contest, but they are not becoming subscribers that you can continue to build a relationship with.

Instead of worrying about engagement (likes, comments, and shares) focus more on bot subscribers.

Do a simple Facebook image post or a Facebook video and tell your Facebook fans type “I’m in” in the comments to get all the details. Once they type “I’m in” the Messenger bot can tell them what the prize is and the action they need to take for the chance to win. Remember, the contestant must take an action and engage with the bot to become a subscriber.

#5: Broadcast blog posts and videos to your list

The most common approach to delivering blog post and videos to your subscribers is email. Did you know that email is a crowded space? Almost every business has an email list and is sending emails to their customers. Many of these customers are filtering their inboxes because they are sick and tired of promotional emails.

Be different! Once someone subscribes to your bot, you’ll be able to send them a broadcast message.

A broadcast message is very similar to sending an email. You’ll type your message, add attachments and send to your list.

Use the broadcast feature to notify your subscribers of a new blog post, podcast, product, event or video.

Pro tip: Anything email can do, bots can do better.

#6: Use Messenger as a customer support channel

Facebook Messenger is efficient, mobile-friendly and fast. Making it a great tool for business and customer interactions, especially useful for customer care.

I recommend starting the customer care journey with a Messenger Bot, followed by providing a human touch. Use the bot to gather the customer’s name, order number, phone number or whatever records you’ll need to locate their account. Let a customer service agent take over the conversation once all the pertinent details have been collected.

If your staff is not equipped to handle customer service inquiries immediately, be sure to set the expectation of when the customer will hear back from a live person.

#7: Engage participants during an event

When an attendee signs up for an event, ask them to join your Messenger list so that you can send important information and reminders about the upcoming event directly to their Messenger inbox. Here are a few examples of Broadcast messages you can send participants:

Confirm registration for the event

The day before the event, send a reminder with links to schedule or other important information

During the event, send links, photos, or videos to enhance their experience

At the end of the event, ask for feedback or invite them to take a survey

#8: Even build out entire automated sales funnels

One of the best ways to use Messenger bots is to nurture leads. You probably already have a marketing cycle in place, so let’s just replace one step.

Instead of asking people to enter their name and email address in exchange for something of value (aka lead magnet), add a clickable button that takes them to your Messenger bot. Once they arrive inside Messenger, be sure to greet them with a welcome message, ask a question and then immediately deliver your lead magnet (text, video, link).

You’ll find that delivering content to your subscribers inside Messenger is more personal than email. Email is a one-way dialogue, whereas Messenger is a two-way conversation with instant gratification for the end-user.

Conclusion

It’s simply amazing how far technology has come, especially for those of us in the digital marketing world.

As you think about adding bot automation to your marketing, I want to caution you to think about how the end user will respond, engage and interact.

Don’t be so automated that you lose sight of the personal touch that Messenger Bots can bring to your marketing. But I also challenge you to think outside the box!

Here are a few tips for you as you start thinking about using Messenger Bots:

Pay attention and keep records of the bot conversations. Does your bot meet the users’ expectations, what they’re after, and whether or not the bot is able to deliver?

Create automated bot sequences for each stage of your sales funnel. Always be thinking about what your customer needs to continue down the sales funnel. Do they need more product details to make an informed decision? A reminder to complete their purchase? Whatever it is, create a bot and automate.

Always, always make sure your bot is kind, personable and fun!

Tell me, how do you plan on using bots in your business?

P.S. Do you need help building your Messenger Bots? Feel free to schedule a complimentary call to discuss how Messenger Bot can work for you and your business.

Sources:

1 – “Facebook Messaging Survey” by Nielsen (Facebook-commissioned study of people ages 18+ who use messaging apps across AE, AU, BR, FR, ID, IN, JP, KR, MX, TH, TW, the UK, the US and VN), Mar 2016. Data is on average across the 14 markets.

2 – “Messages That Matter” by Greenberg, Inc. (Messenger-commissioned study of people who use one or several messaging applications monthly or more frequently in AU, BR, CA, DE, FR, KR, UK and US) Nov 2017. Data is on average across the 8 markets.